How to improve your foxhole

There’s nothing surprising to me about this but I HATE transition periods of my life. I like comfort. I like knowing where my home is. I like knowing people. I like knowing what to expect. I like not having to get used to a new bathroom. Well, right now God has us in a transition period of life. He is streeettching my family – and probably me most of all. When Ned first started at RLSC one of the other cadets told him that he needed to be constantly improving his foxhole. In other words, he needed to make the best of his situation and make it as cozy as possible while he was there. I decided to glean from that advice. I also found an issue of Army Talk circa 1945 that should help. You can read the full version here: http://www.90thidpg.us/Reference/Army%20Talks/foxhole.pdf

Here’s some ideas I have for making the best of my foxhole.

The article begins: To date no way has been found to turn a foxhole into a cozy suite at the Waldorf.

What I’ve learned: Don’t have high expectations that things are going to be perfectly cozy over the next few months.

Dig First…Improve Later -- Three rules to remember…1. Dig deep. 2. Tunnel under. 3. Build a strong roof.

In other words, even if this is temporary, it doesn’t mean that we should do things halfway. This is not a useless time of growth in our lives, and we shouldn’t respond to it weakly.

Snow Trails Must be Hidden – When there is snow on the ground, it’s necessary to pay particular attention to tracks. Brush them over carefully so a trail leading to your hideout won’t be visible from the air.

We must be careful to be vigilant. People are watching our actions even now, when we are feeling most vulnerable. The most important of these people are under three feet tall. We should still take the time to be kind and patient and be an example.

No soldier is going to worry much about his appearance while he is at the front. But just because you can’t be bothered with haircuts and shaves and shoe shines doesn’t mean you should live like an animal. A man’s morale gets a real lift when he occasionally sponges the dirt off his hands and face.

For goodness’ sakes, Hannah. Please don’t stop showering.

Baby Your Feet – At this stage in the game it shouldn’t be necessary to remind a soldier that he can’t get far in battle if he neglects his feet.

I think this is clear. I need to go to a spa.

Three Squares A Day – There’s not much variety to foxhole meals…You get pretty tired of the same thing diet day after day…The Army’s rations are planned by experts to give you well-balanced nourishment. All the vitamins and other food essentials you need to keep fit and healthy are there…Pet peeve of many soldiers is the lemonade powder. Actually this is one of the most important foods in the package…[it gives] you the vitamin C that every man needs every day.

Don’t grow weary in well doing. We still may have to continue our mundane tasks in the midst of selling our house, moving our things, and buying a new house, but even these things are beneficial to our growth. (No matter how much that toddler bed feels like lemonade powder to me right now.)

That’s the story. That’s the round-up of tips from foxhole veterans at the front. Some of these hints may not apply to you just now. Some of them may help make your life at the front a little less dangerous, a little less miserable.

You just love them.

Jack one summer/fall day. Age 2.

 And so I lay my son back down in his crib with mismatched jammies because he peed (not pooped thank God) through his pants. He’s been waking up during the night for the past few nights because he has been having poo problems (I use this euphemism partly because it is less gross and partly because I can’t spell dihareeeeaaa).

His butt is on fire and every time I change his diaper he tells me it hurts because now he can talk and tell me things like “I sad” when he is crying. I feel like my heart is being ripped out when my little self-aware two-year-old tells me he’s sad in the midst of his tears. I take him to the kitchen and give him some Tylenol and get him some Gatorade, which he thinks is juice, and I pick him up and he says, “Thank you, Momma.” This makes me want to bottle his sweetness and treasure it forever.

Photo Credit: NDK Jack one winter day. Age 2.

Jack and I one summer day. Age 9 months or so.

Finn one winter day. Age 7 months.

When just about any sickness comes into my home I end up calling my doctor’s office. I am sure they think I am some kind of idiot because I have phone anxiety as it is and they only answer the phone about a fourth of the time. The other three fourths of the time it goes to an answering machine. So it’s kind of like Russian roulette with whether or not you’re going to talk to a real person. In those times when the nurse comes on the phone I instantly start to blunder, “Uhhh uhhh, my name is Hannah and I am calling about my son Jack. He’s ummmm….he’s two…. And he um, I called yesterday. He has had the poops (only I actually say dihaareeaaa because it would be really stupid to say the poops to a professional). I always assume that they have so many patrons that they won’t remember who I am, when in reality the nurse is probably like, “Oh, here is the weekly call from that frantic mother who thinks that an antibiotic can cause mouth sores and rice cereal makes a baby puke…”

Being a parent kind of makes you a little insane. Suddenly all of your Facebook profile pictures are of someone else and your daily conversation topic is what color/consistency/frequency your kid’s bowel movements are. You are endlessly folding tiny clothes, laughing at Ming Ming’s adorable voice, wondering what could be so exciting about reading a book of pictures labeled “excavator, giant excavator, dump truck…

But the thing is, you really truly are 100% in your kid’s corner. If you could be the one with the sore bum, you would be. If you have to go out in the middle of the night to get gas relief drops for your baby (even though they may not really do anything), you’ll do it. Will you take your kid to the ER only to be told nothing is wrong? Of course. Will you feel defensive when someone else doesn’t recognize your child’s genius? Absolutely. And though you will fail as a parent, say hurtful things, give bad advice, tell them things that aren’t true (even though you think it is), one thing will remain true: you have your kid’s back and you would literally fight a bear to protect them. Kind of puts a little perspective on Matthew 7:11, doesn’t it?

Jack one winter day. Photo credit NDK. Age 2.